Silent Tactics
by Kudai Kage
Summary: Throughout Elibe, the tales of the three Lords was well known. Very few knew about the tactician that helped them on their journey, but none knew the past of the tactician nor one key fact about her. She was mute.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! If some of you are reading my other story A Day in the Life of and you're wondering why I'm writing this instead of updating that one, it's because that one is on hiatus right now. I've had ****ideas for this story for over a year now, but I never got around to writing it. Well here it is! This story revolves around the tactician and her mysterious past. I thought it would be interesting to have a mute tactician, because then it would make everything harder for the character, as well as myself. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

All was dark; the sky having lost its color many hours ago. The clouds hung oppressively low as they wept, their cries soon following the flashes of light striking down from the heavens. The winds, following the clouds' example, cried out with harsh laughter; pushing back any and all resistance it found. The grass below bent to the winds' will, snapping at anything it could touch. Mother nature, herself, seemed to be in a very fowl mood that day. She let her children run wild that night, but that night will be memorable for more than that reason alone. That night a lone figure's pursuers will have finally caught up to her.

As the wind blew her hair around and her cloak billowed around her, she tried to keep a safe distance between her and her pursuers. She grabbed the leather string keeping her cloak in place with one hand and clutched a tome with the other, making sure to keep it close to her body. Her head swiveled around her neck to get a better view of her pursuers. They were quickly gaining ground despite the weather conditions that should be keeping them back.

Desperately, the cloaked figure sprinted a few feet forward, turned around, and let loose a bolt of lightning before turning back and running in the same direction she was previously heading towards. She didn't have to look behind to know that she had barely missed her mark. The cry of the archer she aimed for told her that she had hit his fore arm, and not his shoulder. She mentally berated herself as she kept running, this would only provoke them, and soon, they would start attacking.

As if they had read her mind, her pursuers sent a barrage of fire spells followed by a volley of arrows. It was quite easy for her to nullify the fire spells, all she had to do was cast an electric barrier around herself. Unfortunately, the same logic did not apply to the arrows. The cloaked figure ran in a zig-zag pattern to avoid the oncoming arrows, but failed to completely dodge them. Three of the arrows hit their mark; one buried itself into her calf, another went into her left side, and the last arrow finding it's way into her right arm, the arm holding her tome. With a strangled gasp she staggered for a few steps before she continued to run, ignoring the steel tip tearing apart the muscle in her calf. _Just a little longer, I'm almost there._

She could see it; her ticket to freedom was just past the cliff she was heading towards. She spared a glance behind her to see that her pursuers had gained even more ground; they were far too close for her liking. With a newfound burst of energy, she sped forward towards that cliff that held so much promise in her eyes. She knew that past it would be the rolling plains of Sacae. Her pursuers did not have a base in Sacae, so they wouldn't dare go after her once she had passed the border.

The cloaked figure reached her destination sooner than anticipated, and used this time to set up a "proper landing." She reached into her cloak, wincing as she did so, and pulled out a long rope she had prepared for such an occasion as this. She looped the end of it around the neck of the rope and tied it off in a knot. She then looked over the side and saw an outcropping just big enough to hide her frame. She swung the rope high above her head before casting it down upon the outcropping. She gave it a sharp tug before tying it around her waist. She turned around just in time to see the archer she had burned before notch an arrow. She quickly opened her tome and cast a spell towards him. However, the spell and arrow were sent simultaneously, and both were struck at the same time. To the cloaked figure, time seemed to slow as she fell. Her last thoughts before succumbing to darkness was, _At least… I tied the rope… beforehand._

* * *

She awoke to the sound of whispering in her ear, and the sensation of a sticky substance on various parts of her body. It wasn't long after she regained full control of her senses that she realized what the whispering was. It was the wind gently rushing past her, almost as if it was apologizing for what had happened the night prior; but what was that sticky substance? There was a slight metallic smell exuding from the areas where she felt the sticky substance. Giving up on trying to find out what it was, she slowly opened her eye to the bright world around her.

The first thing she saw was a large rock looming over her with a brown string attached to it. Following the line made by the string, she soon realized that it was not a string but a rope, and that she was attached to that rope. Turning her head to the right she saw that it was a long way down from where she was situated. She brought her head back up and checked the condition of the rope. It was starting to break, but could probably hold her for a few more minutes, at the most. Deciding that getting back up on the rock was the best choice of action, the cloaked figure started to reach for the rope. As she stretched out her hand and curved her spine outward, she felt a sharp pain run through those areas. She gasped and curled in on herself, putting more strain on the rope and making more waves of pain wrack through her core. Biting her lip, she tried to ignore the sudden pain and brought her right arm up to grab the rope.

She paused her action as soon as she saw an arrow protruding from the back of her humerus. She stared at it before she remembered how she had gotten it. All of the memories from last night came back to her in a rush. She stared blankly at the arrow until her mind had cleared. Once she brought everything back into focus, the look in her eye changed. She tilted her head up to see if any of her pursuers were still hanging around. She looked at the outcropping to see if she could see any shadows that might give away a person hiding there; she saw none. She then shifted her gaze to the top of the cliff; she couldn't see much past the outcropping, but it seemed like her pursuers weren't there either.

A loud snap brought her attention back to the rope. The fibers had already started to untangle themselves in a slow procession. The cloaked figure's eye widened, and she scrambled to haul herself up before the rope broke. Once she had pulled herself up onto the outcrop, she hastily untied the rope around herself and the outcrop. She put it back in one of the hidden pocket inside her cloak. Her hand brushed over another pocket, and she panicked. That was the pocket that usually held her tome. She frantically searched all of her other pockets before remembering that she had it in her hand when she fell. Letting out a huff of air, she looked at her surroundings once more.

To her left was the rocky face of the cliff, just past that was a breath taking view of the mountains separating Etruria, Ilia, and Sacae. To her right was more of the cliff's rocky face, some other outcrops scattered about, and what looked like an old mountain goat trail. The cloaked figure looked at the old trial, then to the other outcrops. If she could figure out how to get to the mountain goat trail, then she should have a clear path down to the plains. The gears in her mind started turning as she looked at where the other outcrops were situated, then to where the trail was, then back to where she was. Her mouth was moving, without any sound coming out, as she was trying to find the safest path for her to follow. After a few more minutes of this, she finally found the safest path for her to take, but the first step was the hardest. She would have to jump from her outcrop to another that was right above the trail, a good fifteen feet away from where she was. To prepare herself, she removed the arrows buried in her. She then took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. Once this was done, she stepped back, bent her knees, took a few running steps forward, then pushed herself off of the outcrop that was previously her haven.

She was in the air for, almost, three seconds before she landed on the outcrop she was aiming for. A shockwave ran up her body, and her injured leg collapsed underneath her, once her feet hit the rock, but she ignored it as she slowly rose to her full height. She looked down to make sure that the trail was there before she stepped onto it. She let herself reveal a small grin before she embarked on her journey down to the grassy sea that lay bellow her.

* * *

It has been almost one month since that incident occurred. The cloaked figure has found many tribes, and all of them were hospitable. One tribe in particular, the Kutolah Tribe, was very gracious, and treated the cloaked figure's wounds without asking who she was. They let her stay there for as long as she wanted to let her wounds heal. She went to talk to the chieftain, Silver Wolf, before she left to show her gratitude. When he asked her to stay a while longer to make sure her wounds had healed, she shook her head and said that she had overstayed her welcome. Silver Wolf merely nodded and asked her to delay her leave by an hour. She agreed and waited just outside of the tribe.

Once the hour was up, Silver Wolf approached her with a large leather bag filled with food, and a water skin the length of her fore arm. The cloaked figure stared at him in disbelief and took out her notebook to tell him that this was too much. Silver Wolf only shook his head and gave her a sorrowful look. "No, this is not enough. For a woman so young, you have been through much." The cloaked figure looked at him in surprise, and silently asked him to elaborate. "You have told no one of yourself, but it is easy to tell. The way you communicate is proof enough." The cloaked figure looked away and unconsciously grabbed her throat. Silver Wolf's expression intensified as he looked at the pitiful state this girl was in. She obviously hated to be alone, yet for some reason she kept pushing herself away from others. "I do not know what happened to you in the past, nor why you are this way, and I will not ask. Just know that I will be praying to Mother Earth and Father Sky for your wellbeing. Please except my offer, in exchange, I would like for you to find my son. His name is Rath; if you see him, please tell him that his mother and I are patiently waiting for him to fulfill his prophecy and come home." The cloaked figure just nodded and took the bag and water skin. She bowed to show her gratitude once more before leaving. Her last lingering thought about her stay with the Kutolah tribe was, _I never knew that there were kind people in this world._

* * *

It had been two months since the cloaked figure's stay with Kutolah Tribe. The food that was given to her had run out six days ago, and it hasn't rained in a week, so the water supply is running dangerously low. The cloaked figure knew she would fall unconscious soon if she didn't get something to eat. While the plains were beautiful, there weren't a lot of animals or vegetables. There weren't that many fruit trees either. The cloaked figure knelt down in the grass and closed her eye for a moment. She heard the wind whistling past her and felt the grass swaying along with it. She stayed like this for a long time before she heard loud footsteps coming toward her general area. Opening her eye and standing up, she looked around to find the owner of the heavy footfall. Her gaze swept the horizon until it met another's gaze. The cloaked figure immediately paled as she saw who it was and the number of them. A group of bandits had spotted her once the one that had met her gaze started shouting and pointing at her. In the state she was in, she new she wouldn't be able to outrun them, or fight off all of them. She debated on what to do while the bandits advanced. She couldn't outrun all of them, and at this point she didn't have a chance to run away either, so she chose the lesser of two evils and slowly got into a stance, putting one hand on the sword attached to her side.

Once the bandits had reached her, they quickly surrounded her. The one who had spotted her first was the first one to speak up. "Hehehe, yer qwot the catch, girlie. I bet yew'd fetch qwot a bit on ta market." The cloaked figure's expression went from a blank slate to utter rage as the bandit's words brought back painful memories. "Heh! Yer still a beaut' e'n when yer mad. Ye'll sell qwik-y, allroght." At this point, the cloaked figure was so irate, that she blew caution to the wind and lunged at the bandit that had just spoken. She withdrew her sword from its scabbard and slit the bandit's stomach. She then brought her sword up and slashed the bandit across his torso. She turned around and ran the closest bandit through with her sword. Once she pulled it out, the rest of the group finally realized what was happening and drew their axes. At the back of the cloaked figure's mind, a part of it was telling her that it was useless to fight them. Even with the advantage of using a sword, she was still outnumbered. Unfortunately, she didn't pay attention to it, her anger had blinded her from truly seeing how pointless this battle was.

The cloaked figure took down three more bandits before one of them was able to catch her by surprise. He used the bandits in front of the cloaked figure as decoys as he snuck behind her and buried his axe into her back. She let out a strangled noise before the bandit wrenched it out of her back, turning it while pulling it out to deal more damage. The cloaked figure stumbled forward into one of the bandits that she was previously fighting, and he pinned her down while he motioned for one of his companions to come forward. One of the few remaining bandits stepped forward and raised his axe. He looked at the squirming figure below him before he brought the butt of his axe down upon her head. The blow struck hard and the figure stopped moving. The bandit holding her down tried to remove the sword from her hand before putting her over his shoulder, but he couldn't. He let out a few curses before hoisting the cloaked figure up. He started muttering about how the price would go down since she was injured, but his remaining companions paid no heed as they continued on the path they were originally heading towards.

* * *

Today was the same as any other day for Lyn; she woke up, made breakfast, ate, cleaned up whatever mess she had made, then went out to practice her swordplay. She was a good hour into her exercises when she heard the sound of heavy footfall. Looking to the west, she found the source of the loud noise, there was a small group of bandits heading in her general direction. Lyn narrowed her eyes and crouched down to hide in the tall grass. She stared at the group before she noticed something odd about them; most of them had minor injures littering their torso, one had a limp, and one was carrying something over his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, Lyn noticed that what he was carrying was a person. Her eyes shot up before they came back down in a scowl. No person deserved to be taken by bandits!

Lyn started to think of a way to rescue whoever they had taken. She studied the group more carefully. There were only four of them, and all of them, save for one, were injured. If she could just find a way to distract them, then she should be able to rescue the cloaked figure. Lyn looked around her to see if there was anything of use, but the only usefully thing she had was her sword and a rock laying two feet away from her. An idea suddenly struck her as she picked up the rock. With precise accuracy, she flung it at the bandit that was lagging behind the rest. It hit one of the injures he had sustained, and he howled in pain. The other bandits stopped and turned around to see what was wrong with their companion. That's when Lyn ran in an arc to get to the front of the group, and stabbed the man holding the cloaked figure. He dropped her and screamed in anger and pain. Lyn then grabbed the cloaked figure and ran off. The bandit previous holding the cloaked figure screamed at Lyn's retreating form before he turned back to his companions. The one who had been hit by the rock spoke up, "Shood we chase afta 'em, Batta? Ta girl wa real hard ta git." Batta just shook his head. "Nah, we're not in ta bes' shape ta fight roght now. Tha' uta girl might have back-up, ya see?" The remaining members of the group merely nodded at Batta's logic. "We'll wait tils we all heal'd. Ten we attack ta girlies an' make 'em pay." There was a chorus of, "Roght!" before Batta and his group retreated, but they would come back for Lyn and the cloaked figure.

* * *

When the cloaked figure finally woke up, she expected to see a rocky ceiling above her, not a cloth one. So when she did she panicked, thinking that she had already been sold to some rich proprietor. She tried to sit up, but regretted that decision as soon as she felt pain rack up her spine. She fell back down onto whatever was underneath her, and grit her teeth. She heard someone run over to her and ask if she was okay. The cloaked figure opened her eye and saw a young woman with long forest green hair with eyes to match. The woman was wearing a garment similar to that of the Kutolah Tribe. _Does this mean that I've been saved?_ As if hearing her thoughts, Lyn said, "I found you with a group of bandits. One of them was carrying you over his shoulder." _So this woman did save me, but why?_ Lyn helped the cloaked figure sit up before continuing to talk. "My name is Lyn, I'm from the Lorca Tribe. What's your name?" The girl stared at Lyn while trying to find a way to communicate to her. She didn't have her cloak on, so she couldn't take out her notebook and tell her, so she looked around for her cloak or a stick, whichever she could find first. Lyn took this as a sign that she didn't know, or didn't want to say. In case she might somehow upset this stranger by asking if she lost her memory, she opted to say, "If you don't want to tell me, then that's fine." The girl's head snapped back to Lyn and she waved her hands in front of her face and shook her head fervently. Lyn cocked her head to the side, confused by this girl's strange behavior. The girl looked Lyn straight in the eye and indicated her throat, she then started to move her hand up and down it to show that there was something amiss. Lyn stared at her for a moment before asking, "Is something wrong with your throat?" The girl nodded. Lyn then hesitantly asked, "Can you not talk?" The girl nodded again, she then put her hands above her shoulders and fisted them before crossing them in front of her body, acting like she was putting something on. Confused, Lyn asked, "Do you need another blanket?" The girl shook her head before putting her hands just below her ears, again fisted, and brought them over her head in a curve, as if she was putting on a hood. Lyn stared at the girl before she realized what she wanted. "Oh, are you looking for your cloak?" The girl nodded. "It was bloody and torn, so I washed it and patched it up. It's not that good, mind you, but it's better than having a hole in your clothes." Seeing the girl's eye widen at the mention of washing it, Lyn quickly said, "I made sure to take everything out before I washed it. You know, that thing has a lot of pockets." The girl sighed before holding out her hand in the universal sign of, 'Give it to me.'

Lyn stood up and went to fetch it. As she did so, the girl looked around the tent she was in once more. It was very homely; there was a make-shift kitchen just off to her left, a chest in the far right corner of the tent, a make-shift chair and table near the make-shift kitchen, and a mirror on the opposite side of the tent as her. She stared at the mirror to get a sense of what she now looked like without her cloak. She had long brown hair that went down to her waist, a blue scarf wrapped around her neck, and a short-sleeved purple shirt. Her bangs covered her left eye, and there were bandages around her forehead. She couldn't see anything else because the bedroll she was on covered her lower half. At the realization that her forehead was bandaged, she stiffened. That meant that Lyn had seen her left eye, or lack-there-of, she would definitely ask about that.

Once Lyn came back she handed the cloak to the girl, and waited to see what she would do. The girl rummaged through some of her pockets before she produced a leather-bound notebook and a leather bag containing charcoal sticks. Taking one out, she wrote one word. '_Nihil'. _She showed it to Lyn, and once again she cocked her head to the side. Lyn then asked, "Is that your name?" Nihil nodded and waited for Lyn to say something, although what she said surprised Nihil. "That's a weird name." Nihil puffed out her cheeks before writing, '_It's not like I chose it.'_ Lyn's face turned red before she blurted out, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything!" Lyn looked away from Nihil, ashamed of herself for being so impulsive. There was an awkward silence between the two, before it was broken by the sound of heavy footfall and loud voices outside the tent. Lyn looked up and asked herself, "What was that?" She then looked at Nihil and said, "Wait here, I'll go check it out." Nihil nodded and stayed where she was. She felt indebted to Lyn, so she did as she was told.

A few seconds later, Lyn came rushing back in and shouted, "It's the same bandits from the other day! Don't worry I'll stop them. There's only four, so I might be able to take them on." Lyn was about to rush out again, but Nihil stopped her by grabbing the hem of her dress. Lyn looked down at Nihil and asked, "What are you doing? There's no way you can fight in your condition." Nihil shook her head and quickly wrote, _'I can, but that's not the point. I'm also a tactician, I can direct the flow of battle and help you win against these odds.' _Lyn seemed conflicted, but then decided to bring Nihil with her. Nihil looked around the tent before spotting her sword. She went to grab it, and winced as she did so. She was glad Lyn had already left the tent, that way she wouldn't force her to sit this one out. Nihil had a feeling that Lyn would only be able to handle two of them, so she would need Nihil's help if she wanted to win this battle.

Nihil joined Lyn a few yards away from her tent, and proceeded to tell Lyn about the weapons triangle. She then sketched a rough map of where they were, where the enemy was, and showed Lyn what she needed to do. For the more detailed part, she wrote down what she had planned. Lyn looked like she didn't like the plan, but went along with it anyway. Lyn hid in the tall grass and crawled towards the first bandit. He was a fair distance away from his companions, which made him an easy target. Lyn snuck up behind him and stabbed him through the heart, immediately ending his life. The bandit went down without a sound, and Lyn looked back at Nihil to confirm that she was really going to go through with this plan. Nihil nodded to her and ran out in the open where she could clearly be seen by the three remaining bandits. They're heads turned towards her and they smiled, thinking that they would easily catch her now that they were recovered. Batta stayed back while the other two bandits ran towards Nihil. She turned towards them and acted surprised. She jumped back and grabbed her sword just before one of them reached her. Nihil's sword and the bandit's axe clashed, each pushing on the other. Lyn popped up from her hiding spot and charged at the slower bandit. She brought her sword up and ran the slower bandit through. She decapitated him for good measure before turning towards Nihil. She had just parried an attack and gave a finishing blow before joining Lyn. Lyn looked at Nihil in concern, her wound had started to open again. Nihil shook her head as if to say, 'don't worry about it.' Lyn took her advice and started to walk towards Batta, Nihil lagging behind her.

Batta was furious, he didn't expect to be so easily defeated. He roared in rage, "Ya tink ya can beat me!? Tey don' call me 'Batta ta Beast' fer notin'!" Batta gave a war cry before charging at Lyn and Nihil. Once he was close enough to not be able to change his course, the two girls jumped out of the way. Then quickly turned around and chased after Batta, but he was able to stop sooner than expected. He turned around and swung his axe just as Lyn lunged at him. Her sword would go under Batta's axe, but his axe would severely wound her as soon as it made contact. Nihil shoved Lyn to the side and barely parried Batta's strike. Lyn got off the ground in time to see Batta push Nihil back with every swing. While his swings were wild, he seemed to notice that Nihil had trouble blocking his attacks on her left. He used that to his advantage by make his swings land near there. Lyn saw this as well and charged Batta once more. As Batta brought down his axe, Lyn flicked her wrist upward, creating a large gash on his back and making him miss his target. Nihil took this opening and ran through Batta's stomach. Lyn brought her own sword up and stabbed Batta's heart. They simultaneously withdrew their blades just before Batta fell to his knees. He coughed blood before saying, "I made… a mis-take…"

Nihil watched him for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh of relief. Lyn stared at Batta before saying, "We should bury them." Nihil's eye widened in disbelief before she pulled out he notebook and wrote, _'Scum like them don't deserve the embrace of Mother Earth.' _Lyn stared at her for a moment before sighing, "I know that, but I can't help but feel the need to." Nihil shook her head before writing, _'You're too kindhearted, you know that?' _Lyn nodded and started to dig a grave for Batta with his axe. Nihil sighed in defeat and went to go dig graves for the other bandits that had just attacked them. _I don't know why she insists on doing this, but if that's what she wants, then that's what I'll do._

By the time they had finished, it was already twilight. Nihil's wound had reopened thanks to the battle they just fought, and bending over to dig bandits a grave didn't help. Once they were back inside Lyn's tent, she started fretting over Nihil like a mother hen. Nihil never understood why Lyn cared for her so much, she was a stranger whom Lyn knew nothing about. Yet she still took care of her. Were all the people from Sacae like this, or was it just the people she met? Nihil may never know the answer to her question, and she was fine with that. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that there were nice people in the world. All the ones she had met prior to coming here were cruel and heartless; they would do anything for money. For now, she was content with where was. Lyn was very nice and let Nihil sleep on the bedroll. She tried to object to Lyn's generous offer, but was given no room to argue once Lyn stated, "Injured people should be more comfortable than completely healthy people." Lyn then said that she had an extra bedroll, just incase. While Nihil was tired, she wouldn't go to sleep until Lyn had pulled out the extra bedroll and lay down on it. Lyn rolled her eyes, but complied with Nihil's wishes. Once Lyn had lay down on her bedroll, she turned to see that Nihil had already fallen asleep. Lyn smiled, _She must have been really tired to fall asleep that quickly. _Lyn's smile turned into a frown as she gazed at the other girl's face, thoughts of when she bandaged the girl's head floating into her mind. _What happened to her left eye? It wouldn't open, and it had three marks running down it. Was she attacked by an animal when she was younger, or was it something else? _Lyn decided to leave it be for now, she would ask Nihil later. Right now, she needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow was another day.

Nihil woke up to the smell of rice and beans. She yawned and sat up before stretching, being mindful of the wound of her back. She looked towards the make-shift kitchen and saw Lyn turning towards her with a wooden bowl in her hands. "Good morning! Yesterday's battle must have really worn you out. You fell asleep once your head hit the pillow." Lyn gave Nihil the bowl in her hands before grabbing the second one and sitting down next to the girl. Nihil wolfed it down, seeing as this was her first meal in over a week. Lyn looked at her in surprise, but shook it off and continued to eat her meal.

Once both of them had finished, Lyn put up both of their bowls. She then sat across from Nihil, took a deep breath, and asked the tactician what she spent most of the morning thinking about. "Hey Nihil, you're traveling around the continent, right?" Nihil thought about how to answer Lyn's question. It was true that she was traveling around the continent, but for a different reason than Lyn may think. Lyn probably wouldn't ask for her reasoning though, so she nodded to answer Lyn's question. Lyn let out a sigh of relief before continuing. "I noticed your skill with the sword yesterday, as well as your skill with tactics. So, I was wondering if you would let me join you in your travels, and train me to be a better swordsman." Lyn stared at Nihil with hopeful eyes, while Nihil looked absolutely shocked. She didn't expect Lyn to make such a request. Looking at her now, Nihil knew that she couldn't deny the girl this opportunity. Not only could she see a longing for companionship in her eyes, but this girl had saved her life. She was indebted to Lyn, whether she liked it or not, so she would have to let her come along.

After a long pause, Nihil looked Lyn straight in the eyes and nodded. Lyn's expression morphed into one of complete and utter joy, and she showed it by lunging at Nihil and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Nihil stiffened at the contact of another person, and had the wind knocked out of her. The longer the hug lasted, the more Nihil thought her spine would snap in half. Once Lyn had finally let go, Nihil gasped for air while Lyn gave her an apologetic look. Once Nihil had caught her breath, Lyn started speaking again. "You have no idea how happy this makes me! I've been alone for half a year now, and then you showed up!" Nihil just smiled at her new companion while something in the back of her mind was telling her that this was a bad idea. Nihil didn't care though, truth be told, she was lonely as well. She hadn't really talked to anyone in many years; technically, Lyn is her first companion, maybe even her first friend. Only time could tell.

Lyn jumped up and said, "I'll start packing everything we're going to need. You can plan a route to our first destination. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to stop by Bulgar first, so we can stock up on supplies." Nihil nodded, agreeing to Lyn's sound advice. She took a map of Sacae out of the chest in the corner of the tent and started planning their journey.

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**So how was it? Tell me what you liked and didn't like. Anything would be helpful.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter! Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed, followed, and favorited my story. I honestly didn't think it would gain much attention. Okay, so this one turned out to be a lot longer than I originally planned it to be. It also got a lot more angst-y near the middle. Don't know why, but it did. I also had to cut out some parts at the end that I was planning on putting in because it went way past 7,000 words. Also, if I didn't respond to your review, I ****apologize and will gat to that as soon as I can. Like last time, please feel free to point out any glaring mistakes I have made. Enjoy!**

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The journey to Bulgar would take two weeks, and to pass the time Lyn would ask Nihil about herself. While Nihil wouldn't answer some of the more personal questions, she did answer the others to their full extent. Nihil would occasionally ask questions about Lyn, and she would answer all of them. It was during one of these rare occasions that Nihil found out that Lyn was an orphan. Lyn had started to cry as she accounted what had happened the night the Taliver Bandits attacked her tribe. It was a sad moment for Nihil, she felt the need to comfort her companion, but didn't now how. One would usually embrace them and tell them that everything was going to be okay, maybe even stroke their hair, but Nihil wasn't entirely sure she could do that. Well, she could always try.

Nihil stopped walking and put her hand on Lyn's shoulder. Once Lyn looked at her, she gave her a soft smile and an apologetic look. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Nihil tentatively put her arms around Lyn. It was an awkward embrace since there was a large gap in between the two, but Lyn was touched by her companion's willingness to try. They stayed like this for a moment longer before Nihil decided she couldn't deal with it anymore. Once they separated, Lyn wiped her tears with the back of her hand and thanked Nihil. She nodded at Lyn, and they continued their journey towards Bulgar. They didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day; each had their mind on something. For Lyn, it was thoughts about her parents. For Nihil, her thoughts went to her parents as well as Lyn's parents. She made comparisons between the two pairs before coming to the conclusion that Lyn's parents truly loved her, while her parents never did. While some part of Nihil always knew this, she was still upset when she came to this realization.

They reached Bulgar as scheduled, and immediately went shopping. The two of them decided to split up and get what they could before meeting at the inn they were planning on staying at. Lyn said that she would buy all the food they would need before they came to the next village. That left Nihil with the task of obtaining maps, animal traps, vulneraries, bandages, a new notebook, and a case to put her charcoal sticks in. While walking around the city, she noticed multiple groups of people staring at her. Thinking the worst, Nihil walked through a large crowd of people and pulled her hood up.

Nihil had successfully arrived at the first vendor's stall that obtained multiple maps of different regions. Looking at the collection of maps, Nihil started making comparisons between the ones she already owned and the ones for sale. She saw that there were many places that had been added to some of the maps, and others that had been taken off quite a few maps. Debating on which ones to get, and how much she should spend, Nihil finally decided to get a map of Bern, and a new map of Sacae. The vendor thanked her for her patronage after she bought the maps, and she nodded as her reply.

The next stall she visited had vulneraries, with a stall dedicated to animal traps placed to the left of it. It seemed ironic that they would be situated there, but it took her less time so she didn't complain about it. Nihil chose to get eight vulneraries and five rolls of bandages before moving one stall over. The woman who was selling the vulneraries sent Nihil a judgmental glare before returning to her business. The man selling the animal traps gave Nihil a confused look, but went back to his normal expression when he saw that she planned to buy something from him.

Nihil bought a snare and box trap, before she went to find a stall that sold notebooks; she was running out of space in her old one. As she was looking at the different stalls, she heard someone yelling over the noise of the crowd. She turned around to see what it was, and found a man dressed in green armor running towards her. She looked around to see if he was trying to get someone else's attention, but no one else seemed to notice him. She then looked back at the man and pointed to herself while wearing a confused look. The man in armor nodded vehemently before jogging up to her. He then grabbed her hand and knelt down on one knee. "Oh lovely maiden, thou hast taken my breath away. Wonts thou listen to my plea?" Although the man in green armor had asked her a question, he didn't wait for her reply, instead he went straight into one of the many sonnets he had memorized.

"From fairest creatures we desire increase,

That thereby beauty's rose might never die,

But as the riper should by time decease,

His tender heir might bear his memory:

But thou contracted to thine own bright eyes,

Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,

Making a famine where abundance lies,

Thy self thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel:

Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament,

And only herald to the gaudy spring,

Within thine own bud buriest thy content,

And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding:

Pity the world, or else this glutton be,

To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee."

During this entire exchange, Nihil's head was spinning. Not only was this stranger speaking to her in a strange way, but he was also touching her. She couldn't stop him from talking because she couldn't talk, and she couldn't get her notebook since she was holding her supplies in one hand, and this man had a hold of her other hand. To top it all off, she couldn't clear her head because it was trying to figure out what this man was saying. She quickly prayed to whatever deity was listening to save her from this unfortunate circumstance.

As if her prayer was heard, a man in red armor came up behind the man in green armor and hit him in the back of the head. He then berated the man for his actions. "Sain you lout! What do you think you're doing!? Apologize to this young lady immediately!" The man in red armor then looked at Nihil and apologized for his companion's rudeness. Then he pointedly looked at Sain and waited for him to apologize as well.

Sain stood up and said, "I'm sorry, I've been told I can become overzealous whenever there's a beautiful woman around." At this, Nihil's face turned bright red and she looked down. The man in red armor said good-bye to Nihil before he dragged Sain along with him. Nihil stood there in shock before she continued to look for a vendor that sold notebooks.

Once Nihil had gathered everything on her list, the sun had already set. Lyn was about to look for Nihil, when she saw a familiar brown cloak run up to her. "What took you so long? I was starting to worry." Nihil slightly blushed and looked away, not wanting to talk about what had happened an hour ago. Lyn merely signed at her companion; if she didn't want to explain, there's no way you could convince her to. Lyn led the way into the inn and rented a room for the night. The owner told them that their room was on the second floor, four doors down on the right. Both of them thanked the owner before walking to their room.

Their room was average; wooden floors, ceiling, and furniture, with a window on the right wall revealing the southern half of Bulgar, and two twin side beds situated next to each other. Lyn plopped down on the bed closer to the door, and let out a sigh. "This is a lot more comfortable than the bedrolls." Lyn looked at Nihil and said, "What are you waiting for? Your bed is right next to mine." Nihil scowled at the open window before digging through her pockets. She pulled out a flint stone and a fool's gold, and tossed it to Lyn. Then she nodded in the direction of the candle before making her way towards the window. She looked back at Lyn to see if she had lit the candle, once she did, Nihil reached outside of the building to pull the shutters closed. She turned around and sat on her bed before Lyn asked, "What was that about?" Nihil shook her head and held out her hand. Lyn sighed in exasperation before handing the stones back to Nihil. She put them back in their designated pocket before taking off her cloak and hanging it on the bedpost. She then took out her old notebook and the case she had put her charcoal sticks in before looking at Lyn expectedly.

Lyn stared at her for a moment before she realized that Nihil was waiting for her to ask questions about the girl, as they had done on the journey here. Lyn thought about it for a moment before asking, "What's up with your eye?" Nihil looked taken aback by this, but wrote, _'Do you mean my eye color? I know purple is an abnormal color, but this is what I was born with.' _She showed her answer to Lyn, and Lyn shook her head. "No, I meant your left eye. It looked like it had claw marks running down it." Nihil looked down and tried to cover her face with her hair. She slowly pulled herself into a ball and looked at everything but Lyn. Seeing the pitiful state her companion was in, Lyn quickly added, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I was just curious, that's all." Nihil didn't come out of her ball, but her expression changed from depression to sorrow. Whether she was said because she wasn't able to tell Lyn about it, or from something else, Lyn didn't know. All she did know was that it hurt her companion to think about it, so it must have been a traumatic experience.

Lyn put her hand on Nihil's shoulder, knowing that the girl didn't like to be embraced, and spoke in a soothing voice. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell me. It must have been scary, so you probably don't want to talk about it. Wait here, I'll get you some water." Lyn started to move away, but was stopped when Nihil grabbed her hand. She shook her head and pulled the notebook back into her lap. She flipped back to the page she had previously written on, and started writing again. _'I'm sorry, but that's something better left unsaid.' _Lyn nodded and returned to her bed.

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for what seemed like eternity before Lyn asked, "Is there something else you'd like to talk about, like maybe why you were so late?" Nihil's face turned bright red, and she looked away before quickly writing, _'You won't let it go, will you?' _She showed this to Lyn, and Lyn smiled slyly before saying, "Nope, now tell me." Nihil sighed, but complied to her companion's wishes.

Nihil's explanation took up the rest of what little space she had left in her old notebook. She frowned at the book in her hands while Lyn was trying to regain her ability to speak. Once she was able to make coherent sentences, Lyn stated, "So he came up to you, grabbed your hand, and started speaking in a strange dialect before another man showed up behind him and straightened him out?" Nihil nodded while she was putting her old notebook away, it might come in handy when trying to start a fire. "That's outrageous, for someone to do something like that-," Nihil tuned out the rest of what Lyn was saying, she didn't really care that much. If that man, Sain, waned to speak to women in strange dialects, then that's his choice. She didn't care enough to have a definitive opinion on the matter. Besides she was tired, all she wanted to do was sleep. Tomorrow was a long day, and she hadn't had the chance to see if there were any vendors that sold tomes yet.

By the time Nihil got under the sheets, Lyn had stopped ranting and done the same. Nihil moved to blow out the candle, but what Lyn said next stopped her momentarily. "Goodnight Nihil." Nihil stared at Lyn for a few moments before nodding and blowing out the candle. As Nihil lay there, waiting to fall asleep she thought of all the things that had transpired that day. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was, _'Lyn really is too kindhearted.'_

* * *

Once the two companions had left the inn, Lyn had suggested they go to a bathhouse before they left the city. Nihil had tried to refuse, but Lyn would not take no for an answer. The tactician sighed, and begrudgingly followed the plainswoman to the bathhouse she had set her sights on.

The building had immense proportions; the dimensions had to be at least 36 x 36 x 16ft, and the doorway was, most likely, 12' wide x 14' tall. For such a large building, it seemed weird that there was so little flow in and out of the building. Nihil pulled out her new notebook and started writing, a smirk making it's way across her face before she showed it to Lyn. _'Are you sure you're not taking me to a brothel?'_ Lyn sputtered and turned bright red before turning towards Nihil and shouted, "Of course not! Why on Elibe would I do that!?" Nihil just laughed at her friend's expense before realizing that she had just laughed. She hadn't laughed in St. Elimine knows how long; it felt good to laugh. Lyn shook her head and grabbed her companion's arm so that they could finally bath, muttering something under her breath the entire time.

The two were greeted by a woman named Anna when they walked in, and were immediately shown to the woman's changing room; which had been built to be a sort of barrier between the actual bath and the hallway. They had been given towels and were provided a small shelf to put their clothes on. While they were changing, Nihil looked around and noticed that the few women in the changing room were either using a towel to cover their body, or nothing at all. Her face turned red, and she immediately looked for something else to stare at. While she was looking around the changing room, Nihil took notice of two things. One was that the ground was very wet, the second was that a group of girls about her age were staring at her, namely her chest. Nihil's face turned an even brighter shade of red, and she moved to the other side of Lyn so they would stop staring at her. The logical side of her brain was telling her that it was only natural for women of a smaller size to stare at women of a larger size, but that still didn't mean she had to be comfortable with it.*

Lyn stared at her companion with a quizzical look, silently ask Nihil to explain why she just switched sides. Nihil just slightly inclined her head to point to the group of girls that had gone back to their conversation, but looked over every so often. Lyn turned back to her companion, the quizzical look had lessened yet still remain. Nihil sighed and pointed to her chest, then pointed to the group of girls. It took Lyn a second to figure out what her companion meant, but made an 'O' with her mouth once she understood. Nihil nodded and continued changing.*

Once the two finished changing, they walked into the bath, and were surprised to see how big it was, neither of them had ever seen a bath that big before. There was no doubt that it was bigger than the front doors. As the two stood in awe of the massive bath, the group of girls that were staring at Nihil before walked in behind them and roughly shoved Nihil out of the way. As she stumbled forward, she lost her footing on the wet, stone surface and fell down, having the wind knocked out of her. One of the girls in the group, obviously the leader, sneered at Nihil, "Woops, my bad. Although it couldn't have hurt _that much_ with all the _extra_ padding you have." The girls behind her started to giggle, and the leader smirk at the attention she was given.

Lyn helped her companion up and shouted at the other girl. "What is your problem!? She didn't do anything to you!" Lyn's voice echoed throughout the room, giving extra power to her words, but the leader of the group either didn't care or didn't notice.

She let out an overly dramatic sigh, flipped her hair, and put a hand on her hip before turning back to her posse and saying, "Come on, let's go. We didn't pay to be here for nothing." There was a chorus of "Right," before the group continued on their way to the bath.*

Lyn stared daggers at their backs as she said, "Ugh, the nerve of some people." Nihil shook her head and started walking towards the bath when Lyn grabbed her arm and asked, "Where are you going? We're leaving." Nihil shook her head again and pointed to the bath, then to Lyn, then to the bath again. She was trying to show how this was Lyn's idea, and they were already here, but Lyn was utterly confused by what Nihil had just done. She sighed and continued walking towards the bath, dragging along a confused and upset Lyn.

Nihil went over to the far right corner of the bath and took her towel off before putting it on a shelf located close by. She then walked over to the edge of the bath and stuck her hand in before climbing into it. She then turned around and looked expectantly at Lyn, her arms crossed over her chest. Lyn started at her companion and then sighed, but followed her example. Once both women were in the bath, Nihil sunk lower into the water, a smile making it's way across her face. Lyn looked at her companion, and couldn't help but smile as well. She brought her arms back and lay them on top of the stone behind her. For the first time in a long time, Lyn was truly able to relax, and it seemed the same could be said for Nihil. All of the stress and weariness that had piled up over the years seemed to fade away as time went by.

A few minutes passed by before Lyn had an idea; she could use the time they spent in here to find out a little more about her mysterious companion. When Lyn was bandaging her wounds, she had caught a glimpse of something milky-white on her side and a red marking on her back, but Lyn hadn't focused her attention on that. The more she thought about it, the more curious she became. She got to the point where she couldn't stand not knowing, so Lyn casually leaned back and tilted her head to the side to get a better view of Nihil's back. Unfortunately for her, Nihil's back was pressed against the wall. Lyn looked down a little farther and noticed that the milky-white she had seen was not on the girl's left side. Lyn grumbled and started to move to Nihil's other side, when she noticed the girl giving her a quizzical look. Lyn smiled sheepishly, but continued to move to her companion's other side. Nihil passed it off as Lyn being herself, but kept a cautious eye just in case.

Lyn was now in the perfect position, she was seated on her companion's right side, and it didn't seem like she knew what Lyn was planning. All Lyn had to do was casually look down and to the right, and she would finally find out what that milky-white was. All she needed was a reason to look down, the first thing that came to mind was dropping something, but after looking around, she couldn't find anything near enough to grab and then conveniently drop. Lyn was starting to give up hope when another idea popped into her head. She could just have Nihil stand up, and then she would see it. A smirk started to form on Lyn's face the more she thought about it. _Yes, this could work! All I have to do is stand up and say that it's time to leave. Then when she stands up to get out, I'll be able to see her side and finally find out what that is. If I'm lucky enough, I might catch a glance of that red marking too. _To Lyn, her plan seemed flawless, but she failed to notice that she was mumbling what she was thinking. Nihil heard every word of Lyn's plan and devised her own plan to counter it.

Lyn stood up quickly and said a little too loudly, "I think we have been in this bath for too long. Let us get out, shall we?" Nihil would have sweat-dropped if she hadn't had as much control over her emotions as she did. Nihil pointed to the edge of the bath and nodded her head in the same direction. Lyn knew what this meant and froze momentarily before awkwardly stating, "No, that is okay. You can go ahead." Nihil nodded and slowly stood up. Lyn was almost shaking in anticipation as her companion rose from the water. Lyn's eyes started drifting towards Nihil's chest before she reminded herself of what her goal was. Her gaze was concentrated on Nihil's side, and as that part of her body came out from under the water, Lyn let out a stifled yell. Part of Nihil's hair was covering her side. Nihil looked at Lyn in shock, she hadn't expected the girl to make such a noise. After Lyn had yelled, she covered her mouth with her hands, embarrassed that she had just made that sound and afraid Nihil had figured out why she had made that sound. Nihil just turned around, got out of the bath, put her towel on, and left.

Lyn couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only did she embarrass herself in front of a large group of strangers, but she embarrassed her companion as well. To top it all of, Nihil's hair was covering her back as well as her side. Lyn let out a sigh and tried to get out of there as soon as she could. She managed to put her towel on before she heard a bunch of laughter behind her. She turned around and saw the group of girls from before. Lyn glared at them and asked, "What do you want?" The leader of the group stepped up and said, "Oh nothing really. We just want to know why we heard a pig grunt when your friend got out of the water." There was a chorus of, "Oo-oo-oo," and giggling after the leader said that.

Lyn stared coolly at the leader and stated, "I'm not sure, but I think that was the sound of your jealousy." Lyn smirked at the leader, and crossed her arms over her chest while she waited for the leader to respond. She glared at Lyn in rage and slowly asked, "Did you just say what I think you said?" Lyn pretended to contemplate before she said, "If you think I said that you're a jealous pig, then yes. However, I don't think you're smart have understood that." It was at this moment that Nihil decided to come back and check on Lyn.

She heard the girl screech, "You bitch! You're going to pay for that!" she saw her swing her arm back, and she felt her body moving forward, but she didn't know what she was doing. To her, time itself seemed to slow, but that didn't matter. She was enraged at the fact that some low-life scum, who thought she was all-that, would call her companion- no, her savior- something like that, and then try to slap her. Nihil tackled the girl just before her hand came into contact with Lyn's cheek. The two fell into the bath, and both felt their head collide with something before they lost all their senses.

Lyn knew what the leader was going to do, even before she did it, and was planning to grab the girl's wrist just before it made contact so she could intimidate her. Lyn had planned out exactly what was going to happen, but she didn't plan on Nihil interfering. Now she was staring at the spot where Nihil and the leader disappeared underneath the water, waiting for one of them to resurface. However, it became more and more apparent that neither of them were going to resurface as time passed. Lyn was about to rush over to the side of the bath, when one of the girls in the group said, "Um, are any of you going to, like, make sure they're ok?" Lyn rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the girl and ran towards the bath. She gripped the side and scanned the water for her friend, and the leader. While she was looking, Lyn noticed a slight discoloration in the water. A few feet away from where she was standing, some of the water and turned a light pinkish-red color. Lyn's eyes widened, and she looked near that area before spotting the two just above it. Lyn jumped into the bath and grabbed both of them before hauling them over to the side. She yelled at the groups of girls to help her, and they ran over almost immediately. Three of the girls went to grab their leader while the rest hung back, and Lyn was able to bring Nihil out of the water now that she didn't have the added weight of another person.

Once both girls were pulled out, they were laid on the stone floor. Lyn was trying to figure out what was wrong with her friend when a thought came to mind, what if she had swallowed some of the water? Lyn started to panic; she didn't know what to do in a situation like this. There weren't many rivers or lake on the plains, so she had never learned what to do in case something like this happened. Lyn did the only thing she could, and that was scream at the girls that were just standing there, and tell them to go find a healer. They made an "Oh," sound and turned around, before bumping into each other and running in the same direction. Lyn silently cursed their stupidity, and turned towards the bath and yelled, "Is anyone here a healer or a cleric?"

There was a short pause before someone spoke up, "I think the girl at the front, Anna, knows how to wield a staff." That was all Lyn heard before she bolted out of the bath, almost slipping several times. She ran down the hallway, not caring that she was in only a towel, and found Anna. She quickly explained the situation and practically dragged Anna along as she ran back towards the bath.

Once Lyn brought Anna into the bath, she went to work immediately. Anna went over to Nihil and asked one of the girls to follow her example. Anna tilted Nihil's head to the side to let any excess water drain out. After that she brought Nihil's head back up and briefly explained how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. At first the girl wouldn't do it, but Anna was able to guilt her into it. Anna leaned forward and began the procedure. After six cycles, Nihil started to cough and spit out some of the water that she had swallowed. After Nihil had stopped coughing, Anna went to take care of the other girl, since her friend couldn't perform the procedure correctly.

As Nihil's breathing started to slow down to a normal pace, she opened her eye and saw Lyn staring down at her. She smiled up at Lyn, but it faded once she saw the horrified look on her friend's face. She tried to put a confused look on her face, but stopped when she noticed that Lyn was pointing at something below her chin. Realization hit Nihil, and she quickly tried to cover up her throat. Nihil turned her head away from Lyn before she said, "Is that why-" However, Lyn couldn't finish her question, but she already knew the answer. Lyn was shocked, the only thing she could think of saying was, "Nihil, I'm so sorry…" As soon as she said that, some unknown emotion flashed across Nihil's face before she got up and ran out of the room, occasionally stumbling along the way. Lyn just stared after her, still in shock from what she had seen. The front part of Nihil's throat was a mixture of peach, milky-white, and pinkish-red. There was a semi-large scar running across her throat, the shape somewhat resembling the southern-most island of the Western Isles. Parts of the edges were lined with pinkish-red, while the rest of it was milky-white with the occasional pinkish-red specks.

Lyn stood there, staring at the doorway her friend had disappeared through, until Anna came up to her and waved a hand in her face. "Wow, the way you spaced out, one would think you're the one that almost drowned." Lyn just blinked and stared at Anna, still thinking about what she had just seen. Anna looked at Lyn in concern, "Hey are you alright? You're not sick, are you?"

Lyn was shaken out of her momentary lapse and replied, "Oh…yeah, I'm fine." Lyn looked back towards the door before saying, "Listen, I need to check on my friend. I'm sorry for all the commotion we caused, but I need to see if she's okay."

Anna nodded and watched Lyn jog towards the doorway before adding, "Hey, your friend needs to have her head looked at. If you come back within five minutes, I'll cut you a deal." Lyn nodded and continued on her way.

* * *

Nihil was running through the streets of Bulgar. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. As of now, all she wanted to do was distance herself from the one person she had actually thought about trusting. _I should have known it was too good to be true. Everyone's the same; they either shun me or pity me because I'm different. Why should she have been any different? I'm so stupid for even thinking that she could have been different, for thinking that she could look past all of that. What was I thinking?_ As Nihil was running, she failed to notice the green armored knight talking to his companion three feet in front of her. She ran into him and would have fallen down, had he not caught her after regaining his balance.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Upon noticing her, he grinned. "Ah, we meet again my lady. Have you come seeking my lowly self?" His companion sighed and turned towards Nihil.

"I apologize in advance for anything-" He stopped mid-sentence as he got a good look at her. "You're bleeding." Sain let out a "What?" as his companion pulled out a handkerchief and moved closer to her. "Here, let me get that for you." As he knelt down and brought the handkerchief closer to her forehead, Nihil backed away, afraid of what he might do. The red armored knight looked at her in confusion before asking, "Milady, will you permit me to clean your brow?" Sain let out a huff before mumbling something along the lines of, "I saw her first."

Nihil gave him a quizzical look while his companion let out an aggravated sigh before grinding out, "Sain, I have no intention to fraternize with the young lady before us, nor any lady we may meet along the way. Get that through your thick skull before I have to pound it in." Sain dramatically covered his head and cried out, "Not my beautiful head!" Nihil let out a series of airy huffs that were supposed to be her laughing, but sounded a little hard to let out. Sain and the red armored knight exchanged looks before Sain asked, "Does the lady find that amusing?" Sain was honestly curious, but Nihil took this a different way. She stopped laughing and her eyes widened before she took a few steps back. Sain saw this and quickly explained the meaning behind his question. Nihil kept her guard up, but slowly stepped towards them again.

The red armored knight whispered something to his companion before turning towards Nihil and saying, "Milady, if it's not too much trouble, we would like to ask you a few questions about someone we are looking for." Nihil inwardly panicked, but made sure that she didn't show it. Nihil nodded and pulled out her notebook and charcoal stick while waiting for the red armored knight to ask his questions. Both knights looked at the notebook in confusion before realization crossed over the red armored knight's features.

He looked her in the eye before asking, "Do you know anyone that goes by the name 'Madelyn?'" Nihil quickly wrote, _'No, but I know her daughter.' _She showed this to both knights, and they looked surprised. The red armored knight then asked, "Do you know the lady's whereabouts?" Nihil nodded before writing, _'She should be at the bathhouse right now.'_

Both knights seemed ecstatic to have finally found some information on this elusive character. The red armored knight asked one last question, "Madelyn's daughter, is her name Lyndis?" Nihil gave the question some thought before remembering Lyn telling Nihil her given name, 'Lyndis.' Nihil nodded, and the knights thanked her before heading towards the bathhouse. Nihil looked after them before letting out a breath and tried to regain her bearings. She was near the stables at the entrance to the city; she looked back towards where the knights had disappeared into the crowd before starting to walk towards the entrance. She was wondering if she had done the right thing in telling those knights where Lyn was, but they didn't seem to have any malice when inquiring about her. Nihil had decided not to dwell on it as she walked through the entrance of the city.

* * *

Lyn was flying through the streets, pushing past people and calling out her companion's name. She was doing everything she could to find the girl, but she had no luck. Lyn no longer cared that it had been more than five minutes, she needed to find Nihil. Who knows what could happen to a mute girl in a city as big as this? What if she ran into that man that had grabbed her hand and spoke to her in a strange dialect again? What if she was mugged? What if she ran into a pole and got hurt again? What if she was lying face down in a ditch somewhere? There were so many things that could go wrong, and Lyn wanted to make sure that nothing had happened. Nihil could take care of herself in a fight, but Lyn was too panicked to remember that.

As Lyn pushed herself past another group of people, she ran into a man wearing red armor. The man caught Lyn before she could fall, and swiftly pulled her up. "Are you alright, milady?" Lyn nodded and thanked the man before trying to move past them, but the red armored knight kept his grip on Lyn's forearm. He stared at her for a moment longer before recognition passed over his features. "Milady, if it is not to much trouble to ask, might I ask for your name?"

Lyn gave him a quizzical look before saying, "Only if you let go of me." The red armored knight apologized and let go of her arm. "My name is Lyn," she said before turning around and trying to get through the crowd once more. The knights' eyes widened before they went after Lyn once more.

The red knight yelled over the crowd, "Is your given name Lyndis?" Lyn stopped in her tracks and turned to face the two knights before asking slowly, "How do you know that name?" The two knights looked at each other before nodding, "That is the name of our Lord's granddaughter, it is also the name of Madelyn's only child." Lyn's eyes widened and shock ran across her features. She silently asked the two knights to continue their story.

This time, the green armored knight talked. "We are knights from the Kingdom of Caelin, ruled by the Marquess Caelin. His only daughter, Madelyn, eloped with a nomad of the Sacaen Plains, Hassar. The Marquess was outraged by this and disowned the Lady Madelyn. There had been no contact between the two until six months ago. The Marquess was so overjoyed that he told everyone in the kingdom that he had a granddaughter. My companion and I were sent to invite the family to come to Caelin and hold a reunion there. It wasn't until we arrived here that we found out the Lady Madelyn died shortly after she had sent the letter. However, we soon learned that her daughter was still alive, and lived alone somewhere on the plains. Although, I never expected to meet you here."

The red armored knight jumped in, "Milady, if we hadn't been informed about your whereabouts, we never would have found you. Please Milady, would you accompany us on our journey back to Caelin?" Lyn was absolutely shocked. She had started this journey with no family known to her, but now, she suddenly had a grandfather. She didn't know what to think nor how to react.

After a few failed attempts at speaking, Lyn finally managed to say, "I would gladly go with you to meet my grandfather," the knights seemed ecstatic at this, "however, I need to find my companion. She's somewhere in this city, but I haven't been able to find her." Both knights nodded and asked for the companion's description. "Her name is Nihil. She has long brown hair that she uses to cover her left eye. Her eye color is purple, and she has an average height. She wears a brown, cloth cloak, a blue scarf, a purple shirt, and slightly baggy black pants and shoes. She has a larger than average chest size, she's mute, and she uses a notebook as a mean of communication." The more Lyn told the knights, the more they thought of the girl they had run into earlier.

The red armored knight then asked, "Was her hair wet the last time you say her?" Lyn nodded before quickly asking," Did you see her? Is she okay? Were was she?" The green armored knight put his hands up before saying, "Whoa, calm down. We did see her, she was the one that told us where you were." Lyn turned to him and asked, "Which way did she go?" They both pointed to the entrance of the city before Lyn sprinted towards it, shoving people out of the way in the process. The knights quickly followed her, and silently hoped that they wouldn't have to look for her again.

* * *

Nihil knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what was wrong. By deduction, she assumed that something was wrong with her, seeing as she had felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her and a sense of nausea creeping in. However, she had this sinking feeling that it had to with the group of people trailing behind her. It was very faint, but she sensed a malice intent exuding from them. She had thought about quickening her walking pace, but that might become apparent to them, there was also the possibility of her stumbling because of her dizziness. Either way, it wasn't a good idea so she opted to think of another solution. However, this new solution kept evading her until she just gave up.

While she was walking, she would occasionally look back at the group behind her. As they were progressively getting closer, Nihil was able to figure out more about the group. The group was comprised of seven burly men, each one keeping to theirself, which was odd considering the nature of men in groups. They all made sure to keep behind the man in front, obviously the leader of the group. This man in particular had very defined facial features; his nose was slightly bigger than average, he had a scar running from his temple to just below his eyebrow. Wrinkles were evident on his features, especially on his forehead, and his hair was graying rapidly, giving him an aged look. This man was the only one that always stared at Nihil, whether she was looking back at them or not. It disturbed her, and made shivers run down her spine. Had she not been overly cautious, she would have bolted the moment she noticed them. At this point, Nihil was fairly certain these men were bandits, but she needed to put her theory to the test. A few yards ahead of her, there was a thicket with several large trees surrounding it off to her right. It was the perfect coverage to execute her plan.

Once Nihil had reached the thicket, she acted as though someone had pulled her into the area. She quickly hid herself and waited to hear what the group's reaction was. It hadn't been two seconds before the first sound of alarm came from one of the group members. " 'ey, sum won took ar 'it." The group started to cry out in frustration, when the leader yelled at them to shut up.

"Lissen, we'r gunna chek an' cee if sum won did nab ar 'it." He then pointed at three of his men and said, " Yew tree, git ova ter an' cee wots 'appenin'. Ta res' of yew stay wit me an' wate for tem ta git bak." The entire group nodded at different intervals before the three men started to walk towards the thicket. Nihil guessed which direction they would enter through based on the direction of the sound of their footfall, and repositioned herself so she could attack them without drawing too much attention. As the footfall drew closer, the first bandit walked into the thicket, exactly where Nihil thought they would enter, and was soon followed by the other two bandits.

Once all three were hidden by the trees, Nihil swiftly rose from her hiding place and quickly dispatched the closest bandit. When the other two heard the sound of a body hitting the ground, they turned around and saw their target. The second bandit didn't have time to draw his axe as his neck was torn apart by cold steel. The third blindly charged Nihil, and she merely sidestepped as he ran past her. She brought her blade up and slashed the bandit across his back before thrusting it underneath his scapula, effectively puncturing his liver. After Nihil had retracted the sword, she flicked her wrist to get the blood off the blade. Once most of it came off, she wiped off the remaining blood on one of the dead bandits' shirt. She sheathed her sword and listened for the sound of any other bandits heading towards her. Once she heard none, she let out a sigh and held her head in her left hand. The dizziness she had felt earlier had increase quite a bit, and she was starting to develop a headache. This combined with the nausea she felt before only helped to cloud her mind; from this point on, she would have to rely purely on instincts, and they were telling her to run out and catch the group's attention. So that's exactly what she did.

Nihil ran out of the thicket and back onto the path before looking straight at the group of bandits and doing the most childish thing she could, she stuck out her tongue and pulled her lower eyelid down, before dashing off towards the river. There was an enraged sound and a shout before the sound of heavy footfall sounded behind her. Nihil looked around and saw that there were occasional clumps of trees along the way towards the river, and started to head towards the nearest clump. She looked back and intentionally slowed down once she saw that the fastest bandit was eight yards behind her. Once she made it to the clump of trees, she turned around and waited for the fastest bandit to catch up. She didn't have to wait long.

The bandit raised his axe high, as he approached Nihil, and brought it down in one swift motion. Nihil moved to her left, but the axe clipped her, just below the shoulder. Nihil narrowed her eye and swung her sword in a horizontal slash, cutting through the bandit's bicep and nicking his torso. The bandit turned on her and let out a war cry before swiping at her in an upward, diagonal motion. Nihil jumped back before dashing forward and kicking the bandit in his chest. The bandit stumbled backwards, and Nihil took this moment to run her sword through his gut. The bandit had a look of surprise on his face as he fell to the ground. Nihil only stared at him coldly before turning around and checking to see how much ground the other bandits had gained while she was fighting. They had gained quite a bit; they were, most likely, five yards away from her now.

Nihil was about to turn around and start running to the next patch of trees when she saw a figure on the horizon. It looked like two horses with a passenger on each one. Nihil would have stared at it longer, but the remaining bandits were almost upon her. She turned and bolted towards the river, hoping to gain a little ground between her and the bandits. She no longer had time to run towards one of the other clumps of trees.

Once she had reached the bank of the river, she turned and waited for the bandits to catch up. The leader of the group barked orders to the two remaining bandits. They nodded and started to move in a wide arch at the same pace. The leader stopped and waited to see what would happen next. Nihil recognized this as a classic pincer move, and knew exactly what to do. She started to slowly back into the river behind her, keeping the slippery rocks below in mind. She looked to her left and right to try and gauge when the two bandits would be upon her. She concluded that they would arrive at the same time, but couldn't figure out when they would arrive.

As the bandits came closer and closer, Nihil stopped backing up and crouched down, putting her blade near the water's surface. She started looking towards her left and right more often, and prepared for her next move. At once, both bandits were on either side of her, both raising their axes high. Just as they were about to bring their axes down, Nihil whipped around in a circle, swinging her sword around in a deadly cycle. Both bandits stayed where they were for a moment before falling into the river. Nihil washed her blade in the rushing water, and took her time walking out. Once she had reached the bank, she glared at the leader's stunned face before her head throbbed with an intense pain. Nihil grimaced and held her head in her non-dominate hand. The leader laughed and started to slowly walk towards her.

"Not so tuff now, ar wee? It's a shaym I haves ta kill ya, yew wood'a sold good on ta mar-ket." Nihil's eye widened, and she bared her teeth as if to snarl at him. She took a step forward, but instantly regretted it as the pain increased. She grit her teeth and shut her eye tightly, she grip on her sword tightening. The leader took his time closing the distance between the two of them, knowing that she wasn't going anywhere. He grabbed her chin and forced it up while keeping a hand on his axe.

"Ya wanna no som'in'?" He grinned maliciously and tightened his grip on her jaw. "Ta peepl tat 'yr'd me waz a famose groop o' assassinz. Tey want yew dead fer sum reeson, don' no wy." The leader brought his axe up and rested it against her heart. "So wen yew go an' meet Sante Elimine, tell 'er it waz ta Blak Fang tat kill'd yew."

The leader slowly put pressure on the axe, that malicious smile widening even further. Nihil's eye widened even further every time the axe dug into her. She knew that this was it; she had lost this game of cat and mouse. It was only a matter of time, but she never expected to happen this soon. She could feel her breath quickening, her heart thumping rapidly in her chest, her life coming to an end at the hand of this bandit. She didn't want to die here, there was still much more that she needed to do. She needed to seek revenge against the parents that abandoned her, against the cruel master she had served under, against the one that took away her eye and speech. There was so much more that needed to be done.

As the axe drove itself closer and closer to her heart, she closed her eye and let out a breath. _I'm so sorry Lyn, for everything._ As she thought this, she heard a familiar cry.

"NIHIL!" Her eye shot open and she tried to look past the leader in front of her. She saw Lyn and the two knights from before galloping towards her. Nihil's mouth parted in surprise, and the leader tossed her away before turning towards the new threat. Lyn gasped as Nihil fell onto the bank of the river, and jumped down from the red armored knight's horse. She shouted once more before starting to run towards her companion. However, the red armored knight stopped her by putting his sword in front of her.

She stared at him in disbelief before he said, "Milady, that is not a wise choice." He turned to face the leader before asking, "Sir, is there a reason for harming an innocent young lady?"

The leader snorted before stating, "Ter's a good reeson, alroght. I was 'yr'd ta kill tis girl." He started at Lyn before grinning and saying, "I waz 'yr'd ta kill tat girl too." The two knights moved their horses in front of Lyn and stared down at the leader. While the two knights were guarding their charge, they started whispering to each other.

"Sain, I need you to back me up. Lady Lyndis is too emotionally distraught to properly fight at this moment. I need you to grab Lady Nihil and bring her over to Lady Lyndis before joining the fight. I'll lead him away from her. Can you do this for me Sain?"

Sain's eyes narrowed into slits before saying, "Anyone that would harm a woman for money is my enemy." The red armored knight nodded and squeezed the sides of his steed to take it into a trot. He then brought it into a canter and charged at his enemy, making him jump to the left. The red armored knight kept up the pressure and made the leader back away from their group quickly. Sain looked at his companion before cantering towards Nihil. He skillfully leaned far over to his right and grabbed her before sitting upright and bringing her back to Lyn. Lyn closed the distance between them and grabbed Nihil as soon as she could. Sain stared at them for a moment longer before cantering after his companion.

Lyn sank to the ground as she held her companion in her arms, tear forming in her eyes. Nihil was pale, and the left side if her chest was covered in blood. For the second time that day, Lyn didn't know what to do. All she did was rock back and forth, repeating the same line over and over. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She cradled her companion in her arms as she was staring down at her. Lyn's tears started to overflow and splashed on Nihil's face. She couldn't control herself her mind had gone to some distant part of her brain where she couldn't reach it. Her heart felt like it would rip in half again. Nostalgia hit her as she recalled how this very same thing happened the night her parents died. Lyn stopped her chanting as she looked at Nihil, but instead of seeing her companion, all she saw was her mother, her father, her tribesmen, everyone she had cared for. Lyn donned a horrified expression before it melted into inexplicable sorrow. She embraced her companion and cried.

The two knights trotted back towards their charge, and saw the state she was in. Assuming the worst, the red armored knight went to comfort his charge, while the other stayed behind. His head bowed and his fists clenched tightly. The red armored knight crouched down and put a hand on Lyn's shoulder. "Milady, I am very sorry. This is my fault; if I had made my steed gallop faster then we would have made it in time. I will graciously accept any punishment you may give me."

Lyn looked at him through puffy eyes and said, "It's not your fault, it's mine." Lyn looked back down at her companion, "If I hadn't said what I did then none of this would have happened. Nihil, I'm so sorry. I selfishly imposed on you, and asked for you to make me stronger. Yet I couldn't protect you when you needed me the most. I'm so sorry, Nihil. I'm so sorry." Lyn embraced Nihil once again, and cried even more than she had at first.

Sain had started to walk towards his companion when he noticed a small movement out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and focused on the area where he had seen movement. He noticed himself staring at Nihil's hand. Realizing what this might mean, Sain's eyes widened and he waited with baited breath of it to move. _… … …_ _twitch… …_ Sain gasped and exclaimed, "Kent! Her fingers just moved!" Kent's head snapped in Sain's direction before moving it to look at Nihil. Kent gently pushed Lyn to the side and brought his face close to Nihil's. He turned it to side and felt a small amount of hot air wisp around his cheek.

Kent's eyes widened as he stated with awe, "By the gods, she's alive." Lyn snapped her attention Kent before she asked, "…She's alive?" Kent looked at her and nodded. Lyn had the utmost relieved look on her face as she heard these words.

Sain interjected, "She won't be if we stand around here all day. We need to get her to a healer _now_."

Kent nodded in agreement before grabbing Lyn's arm. "Milady, we must return to Bulgar; there should be many skilled healers there. I'm sure we could find one that would help us." Lyn nodded, but stayed rooted to the spot.

Sain sighed and said," Don't worry Lady Lyndis, she will ride with me." Sain then walked over to Lyn and pried her hands away from Nihil before taking her up in his arms. Sain grimace at the poor state the girl was in and wished that they had been there just a moment sooner. Sain gracefully mounted his horse with, Nihil in hand, and didn't wait for Kent and Lyn to mount Kent's horse before he galloped towards Bulgar.

* * *

* So that actually happened to me before, except it was at a gym.

**Okay so I did a lot of research for this chapter, so if you're going to comment on the whole group thing (bandits, or the girls) please know that I spent many hours researching mob mentality. There was also something else, but I can't remember what it was. Oh well. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, I'd really like to know.**


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